Decorative sheet materials have been manufactured for many years and one of the commonest means of enhancing the decorative effect has been to incorporate various, relatively small eye-catching particles, chips, or flakes in the decorative sheet materials to provide additional surface interest. One example of such techniques is noted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,187 which issued on May 2, 1972 and which describes processes of incorporating small decorative chips or flakes of various colors and hues in the wear layer of a resilient floor covering.
These relatively small decorative chips or flakes of various hues and colors are included and are present substantially uniformly in the wear layer and are substantially uniformly visible or discernible by persons viewing the resilient floor covering. When pattern or design is provided in the resilient floor covering, the relatively small decorative chips or flakes of various colors ahd hues are visible and discernible in substantially all parts of the pattern or design. And, if the resilient floor covering is of the embossed type, whether chemically embossed, mechanically embossed, or otherwise, the relatively small decorative chips or flakes are visible and discernible in both the raised portions and the depressed portions of the resilient embossed floor covering.
This substantially uniform appearance of the eye-catching, relatively small decorative particles, chips, or flakes is normally not undesirable or objectionable but sometimes there are occasions when it is desired that the decorative particles, chips, or flakes be limited or confined to certain selected portions of the pattern or design, or to certain raised or depressed portions, if an embossed or textured type of resilient floor covering is involved. This is rather difficult to accomplish, inasmuch as the easiest and most economical way to include the decorative chips or particles in the product is simply to incorporate them in the formulation of the wear layer where they become substantially uniformly dispersed during the mixing of the formulation which is subsequently applied to the main portion of the resilient floor covering. To do otherwise has introduced manufacturing difficulties and has increased operating and production costs.
For example, if a simulated brick or ceramic tile and surrounding mortar or grout pattern or design were to be involved, and it was desired that the simulated brick or ceramic tile be raised or elevated above the adjacent, surrounding lower or depressed simulated mortar or grout, and that only the simulated brick or the ceramic tile possess the eye-catching decorative appearance, it was equally desired that the adjacent, surrounding depressed or lower simulated mortar or grout not possess an eye-catching, decorative appearance but that it merely have the typical dull, neutral, natural gray, white or light color usually associated with such cementitious materials. Such, of course, would provide for a more desirable contrasting appearance between the simulated brick or ceramic tile and the surrounding simulated mortar or grout.